Viral wnvNS3 Protease Antibody

Infection of mosquito-borne West Nile Virus can cause severe neurological disease and can be epidemic. Two non-structural proteins, NS3 and NS2b, play an essential role in viral replication and are therefore a potential target for treatment and prevention of West Nile Virus disease. NS3 consists of a trypsin-like serine protease with a catalytic triad (His51, Asp75, Ser135) and a putative helicase. Requiring NS2b as the cofactor, NS3 protease processes viral polyprotein precursor (1, 2). The purified recombinant protein used as an immunogen consists of three forms: the full-length fusion protein, the N-terminal NS2b, and the C-terminal NS3 with a G₄SG₄ linker. NS3 protease has a relatively narrow substrate specificity that prefers Arg in P1 and Lys in P2.